


Tahoe

by axton_writes



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Power Outage, cabin in the woods, ryan is afraid of bears, ski trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:35:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21873055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axton_writes/pseuds/axton_writes
Summary: Ryan and Shane decide to go to Lake Tahoe for a relaxing getaway.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	Tahoe

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a Secret Santa gift for ghoulsters/purpledinoz7 on Tumblr with the Unsolved Secret Santa Exchange. Hope you like it!

Snow was an unusual sight for Los Angeles, the valley essentially being too warm to keep snow sticking long enough for anyone to enjoy. Lake Tahoe, however, was perfect for snow, and lots of it. 

It started off simple enough, a ski trip for the two of them, a break from their long work days and never-ending content uploading. Shane was to drive them up and bring snacks, while Ryan would find their lodging and rent their equipment at the trails. Simple enough. 

Or so they thought.

A small cabin in the snowy hillside looking over Lake Tahoe, nestled between tall Redwood trees and situated near the basin of the lake, Ryan had second thoughts before going in. 

“Alright, we’re in the middle of nowhere, with no people within a few miles of us. What if somebody was killed here?”

Shane sighed and picked up his bag from the back of the truck, turning to Ryan and shrugging. 

“We probably would’ve found out by now. Also, wouldn’t that be your dream? Like, running into an actual ghost?”

Ryan eyed the doorway suspiciously before sighing and picking up his bag, the keys to the cabin jingling in his pocket. 

“And I’ve already paid for the place, so we might as well stay in it.”

Shane stepped up to the door, Ryan trailing close behind him. He fished the keys from his pocket and opened the door, stepping in front of Shane to take the scenery in. 

A cozy, little cabin with a couch and fireplace to the left of the main room, a fake Christmas tree already up and lit in the corner next to the window, casting a soft glow into the room. To their right was a small kitchen, a small dining table, and two chairs pushed in. There was a dark hallway in between the spaces that lead to the bathroom and the one bedroom they decided to share for the duration of the trip. 

Ryan turned between the kitchen and the living room before deciding to head to the bedroom to unpack, letting a yawn overcome him. Shane scoffed at the shorter man before rolling his eyes. 

“We need to get dinner and supplies before we go to bed, Ry.”

Ryan shrugged and pushed the door to their room open, dropping his bag by the door and falling face first into bed. 

“ Mhm tired, Shane.”

Shane followed him in, picking up the stranded bag and deciding to unpack while Ryan laid on the bed. 

Hanging shirts, laying folded clothing into the dressers, getting their toiletries put away in the bathroom, and nudging Ryan every so often to keep him awake, Shane busied himself to ease the anxiety still lingering from the car ride to the cabin. He would be the first to admit he liked the idea of nature and a getaway from office life for a moment, but it wasn’t the easiest drive up to Tahoe that he’s ever had, though he hadn’t been this far up in the Sierra Nevadas’ before. 

He nudged Ryan with his elbow as he sat down on the bed, leaning back so he could lay next to him. 

“Ry, hey. I think I saw a Chipotle on the way up. You want to get something in  ya before you clock out on me?”

Ryan picked his head up off of the bed and nodded enthusiastically. 

“You had me at ‘Chipotle’.”

~

Coming back into the cabin, a little tired from their dinner, and a little giggly from their conversation in the truck, Shane thought it unusual how  _ dark _ the cabin seemed compared to when they first walked in nearly two hours ago. The sun had set a little more behind the trees, casting an eerie, pink light into the room, and he shrugged off his coat to hang over a chair at the table, the few snowflakes that caught in his hair now melting. 

The second thing he thought was unusual, was how  _ cold _ the cabin had gotten in two hours. 

Ryan came in and closed the door behind him, pulling his beanie off and shaking his head to fix his hair, only causing more trouble by making it fall into his face. He huffed and slipped out of his coat, tossing it over the couch. 

“Did you turn the heater on before we left?”

Shane shrugged and walked over to the thermostat and nodded. 

“I did. I guess it hasn’t kicked on yet.”

Ryan ran his hands over his arms and looked between Shane and the Christmas tree, which was now the darkest thing in the room. 

“Hey, wasn’t the tree lit when we left? Or did you turn it off?”

Shane looked over to the tree and shook his head. 

“I don’t remember. I don’t think we need it on, we’re just going to go to bed, aren’t we?”

Ryan looked down to his feet and let out a small yawn, much to his dismay. 

“Yeah, I guess we are. I want a shower first.”

Shane put his hand up and curled it into a fist. 

“Rock, paper, scissors, who goes first?”

Ryan shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself. 

“You go, big guy, I just want to get warm first.”

He nodded and turned towards the bedroom, heading off to the bathroom. Ryan followed and grabbed his bag from the closet, deciding it best to get his blanket out and try to relax before he could take a shower. 

Shane flicked the switch up, and when the light failed to turn on, he flicked it a few more times. 

“Huh. That’s weird.”

Ryan’s eyes widened a little and he turned his head to the bathroom. 

“Try the one in the bathroom.”

Shane left the switch up and walked into the bathroom, flipping the switch a few times.

“Hey, I think we might have lost power.”

Ryan bit his lip and spun around, his hands seeming to shake against his sides. 

“Oh God, oh no, this can’t be happening.”

Shane let out a light laugh. 

“What? The old  Bergmeister can’t handle the dark?”

Ryan turned toward Shane and let out a whine. 

“We don’t even know if this cabin’s haunted or not and you think it’s funny the lights went out?”

“Well, it does explain why the thermostat isn’t working.”

He threw his hands up before letting them drop back to his sides. 

“Not helping!”

Shane wrapped his hands around Ryan’s biceps and gave him a little squeeze, a small, comforting thing he’d done many times now to keep Ryan from having a panic attack. 

The warm touch brought him back down to reality, and he looked around the room before letting his eyes land on Shane again, the fear still visible in his face. 

“How do we fix it?”

Shane shrugged. 

“For now, let’s just get warm and call up the manager, see what they can do for us.”

Shane let Ryan go and he let out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“We have a fireplace in the front, and I thought I saw some wood already chopped on the porch.”

His eyes brightened a little and Shane gave him a crooked smile. 

“I think I’ve got some hot chocolate packets in my bag. How does that sound?”

Ryan bit his lip and nodded. 

“Sounds good.” 

He turned to leave, and then turned around to look at Shane.

“Do you know how to build a fire?”

~

Ryan leaned back against the couch, a blanket draped across his shoulders, as he watched Shane fiddle with his phone flashlight and got the logs into place where he wanted them. He flicked his lighter until it ignited and he pressed it against the side of a Firestarter, watching the small clump of chips slowly smoke, then begin to burn. He pulled the metal curtain back and joined Ryan in front of the couch on the floor, sitting down so close their shoulders were bumping. 

Ryan pulled the blanket over Shane’s shoulders as well, sharing the warmth under the blanket. He handed Shane a warm cup of cocoa, watching as the flames grew bigger and their space got warmer. 

“So, first night in a cabin with no power. This should be fun.”

The wind picked up and howled against the window, causing Ryan to jump. Shane wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. 

“Just the wind, Ry.”

Ryan nodded and sipped his drink, leaning against Shane as he watched the fire grow. 

“I know, I just get nervous.”

Shane laughed and set his drink down. 

“I’ll be right here with  you; you don’t have to worry.”

Pulling the blanket down and spreading it over their laps only seemed natural enough to Shane, and they leaned back against the couch, Ryan inching closer every time the wind howled or a tree branch tapped the window. 

The light outside grew darker as the sun set and the snow gently drifted to the ground and stuck on the trees, a nice outline beginning to form around the window. The fresh powder would be perfect for tomorrow’s trip to the slope, and Ryan could only imagine the trouble they would get into with two more feet of snow. 

Caught up in his thoughts as well, Shane rubbed small circles with his thumb over Ryan’s shoulder, staring out the window and watching what he could barely make out of the falling snow. 

The fire began to die, and the warmth they shared began to grow cold again. Shane’s phone flashed with the time being closer to midnight, and he nudged Ryan up, who was almost asleep on Shane. 

“Hey, Ry. C’mon. I think we should head to bed.”

Ryan grumbled something incoherent but took Shane’s advice and stood up, helping him up with a hand outstretched to him. 

Wrapping the blanket back around themselves, they headed to bed with the intention of going to sleep. 

Right before Shane went to sleep, a loud _SNAP_ and _CRACK_ , the _WHUMP_ of something hitting the snow had Ryan bolt upright in bed, clutching the pillow in his hand. 

“What the fuck was that?”

Shane pulled Ryan back down to the bed and sighed.

“It’s just a tree branch. We’re supposed to be on vacation, little guy. Not on the job, not on an investigation. You’ll be okay. Besides, what’s the worst that could be out there? Bears?”

Ryan screamed. 


End file.
